Jim Hill wrote:As for the eagerly anticipated sequel that was originally supposed to have been Walt Disney Pictures & Jerry Bruckheimer Films' tentpole release for the Summer of 2011 (i.e. "Pirates of the Caribbean 4"), that movie first slid to Holiday 2011 and is now tentatively slated for release in the Summer of 2012.

Which -- I know -- will depress a lot of you "Pirates" fans out there. Having to wait a whole 'another year before you then get to see Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow again. So let me try & cheer you up by revealing that -- in addition to "Toy Story 3" and "Cars 2" -- Pixar Animation Studios has yet another sequel in the works.

"Which Pixar picture?," you ask. Well, though the buyers who attended these particular preview sessions were first sworn to secrecy by Disney officials, several immediately reached out to me afterwards to say how thrilled they were to learn that Pete Docter will be following up "Up" with a sequel to "Monsters, Inc."

As for the proposed storyline of this yet-to-be-officially-announced Pixar sequel ... Sorry. But I'm not able to see that far into the future. Not yet, anyway. Maybe after I attend Licensing Expo International 2010, I can then share a few more tidbits about this "Monsters, Inc." follow-up.

It was apparently top secret info, told in confidence to buyers at the Licencing International Expo 2009 (a Las Vegas trade fair where studios hawk their upcoming wares), but the news that a sequel to Monsters Inc. is in development at Pixar, alongside Cars 2 and Toy Story 3, could not be contained.

You know, I can see the rationale for Toy Story 3 and even Monsters Inc. 2. But Cars is widely regarded as Pixar's worst film - not necessarily BAD, but not up to the standard of the rest of Pixar's excellent work. Why do a sequel to their crap?

minstrel wrote:You know, I can see the rationale for Toy Story 3 and even Monsters Inc. 2. But Cars is widely regarded as Pixar's worst film - not necessarily BAD, but not up to the standard of the rest of Pixar's excellent work. Why do a sequel to their crap?

... other than that John Lasseter has a serious love of automobiles.

From wiki-

On June 22, 2006 Disney Consumer Products announced that Cars merchandise broke records for retail sales based on a Disney-Pixar product, recording 10-to-1 more volume than Finding Nemo.

-Estimates from the New York Daily News indicate that sales of Cars merchandise two weeks out from the release of the film amounted to US$600 million. Estimates put out in November by the Walt Disney Company peg total sales for the brand at around $1 billion.

Thank you, Zoners, for the kindness, tolerance, and enlightenment you've shared with me. It may not have been deserved, but it was greatly appreciated nonetheless. Soupy twist.

I wonder why it took them so long to announce it. Pete Docter had been avoiding giving a yes or no answer for a long time. I wonder if it was having story problems or something...But I'm really excited.

Elizabeth Guider wrote:Pixar tentpole "Brave" has been given a release date of June 15, 2012, and there will be another "Monsters, Inc.," scheduled for the 2012 holiday season, precisely Nov. 16.

Those were two of the news items off a wide-ranging discussion and presentation Thursday by new Disney film chieftain Rich Ross.

After unveiling trailers for a number of upcoming titles -- including Jerry Bruckheimer's "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and the female-skewing "Secretariat," with Diane Lane as the horse's determined owner -- Ross unveiled the first three movies he's greenlighting: "Pirates of the Caribbean 4," and "The Muppets" in 2011 and the teen-targeted "Prom" in 2012.

The first is the company's most successful global franchise and hence a no-brainer, the second will introduce a new Muppet named Walter, and the third will be "smart and authentic" a la what John Hughes used to do.

"Brave," once known as "The Bear and the Bow," is written and directed by Brenda Chapman and features the voices of Reese Witherspoon and Billy Connolly in a tale of archery and royalty.

"Monsters, Inc.," directed by Pete Docter, grossed $525 million worldwide after its release in November 2001.

Speaking to about 20 reporters in the Frank Wells building on the Disney lot, Ross -- who has been on the job for seven months -- tipped his cap to the Dick Cook regime that preceded him but also embraced the studio's upcoming slate as his own.

He emphasized that the tentpole business is crucial to the success of the global Disney brand but that not everything on the slate is a four-quadrant movie. Perhaps four out of 10 Disney pics per year would be genuine tentpoles going forward, he said.

Ross emphasized the diversity of the banners under the studio umbrella -- from Disney's bemused and decidedly modern take on the Rapunzel fairy tale in "Tangled" to Pixar, Marvel and DreamWorks' distinctive brands and approaches. But, he added, none has a "silo mentality."

As for his background in cable TV and his hiring of several relative outsiders to key positions, Ross said he wants "diversity of thought."

Affable and relaxed, the executive -- who said his favorite movie is "Tootsie" -- seemed particularly enthused by the emotional tone of the fall release "Secretariat," which he said is a movie that is "a signal of what Disney is."

The unfinished trailer included a scene in which the race horse is born -- and the foaling that was filmed recently in Kentucky features the actual great-grandson of the Triple Crown champion.

About the next "Pirates," Ross said several new characters would be introduced -- Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane already are on board -- including some international talent.

And more than 10 years after "Toy Story 2," the third installment in the franchise -- which is out June 18 and will be in 3D -- features a number of new toys and voices, Ross noted, as well as the return of leads Tom Hanks and Tim Allen.

I'm not too thrilled about a sequel to Monsters Inc. I absolutely love that film, and I cannot imagine how a sequel could possibly be better, or even "as good." However, one never knows. Since it will have at least some of the same cast (I sure hope Bob Peterson is doing Roz in the sequel), if not all, I can at least hope.

I'd like to see the Pixar folks tackle some more adult oriented (AND I DON'T MEAN ADULT IN THE SENSE OF PORN/NUDITY/LANGUAGE/VIOLENCE) stories. For example, what if Pixar made an animated feature based on a science fiction novel like "Ringworld" or any of the Lensman books?

“will take us back to before a time when Mike Wazowski was top comedian, before James P. Sullivan was top scarer, even before the buddies joined the MI workforce. In fact it takes us all the way back to school — the University of Fear to be precise. Although the two start out as frenemies, Monsters, Inc. 2 will weave the tale of how the dynamic duo transition from rivals to BFFs.”

“will take us back to before a time when Mike Wazowski was top comedian, before James P. Sullivan was top scarer, even before the buddies joined the MI workforce. In fact it takes us all the way back to school — the University of Fear to be precise. Although the two start out as frenemies, Monsters, Inc. 2 will weave the tale of how the dynamic duo transition from rivals to BFFs.”

Yup! And the title has been re-christened MONSTER UNIVERSITY (with MONSTERS, INC. 2: RISE OF THE MONSTERS coming in a close second).

From Heat Vision:

The sequel to Disney/Pixar's Monsters Inc. has a title: Monsters University.

Disney revealed the moniker at its presentation at CinemaCon Tuesday. Monsters Inc. was one [of] Pixar's early hits, released in 2001 as the company's fourth movie. Pete Docter and David Silverman co-directed the pic, which featured voicework from John Goodman and Billy Crystal as fright engineers Sully and Mike Wazowski. The movie scared up $525 million worldwide. Sully/Goodman and Wazowski/Crystal are expected to be back as will monster bad guy Randall Boggs (voices by Steve Buscemi). Disney has scheduled the sequel for a 2012 release. The premise for the new movie is under lock and key although Disney said it will be a prequel.

Received the below report about the title, "Hidden City," but I have been receiving many reports from people at Pixar, Disney and the Richmond area that say there are whispers going around that the film is really about a world of monsters that live underneath a little girl's bed. I have also heard that they are experimenting with darker backgrounds and a weird 2d and 3d technology that seems to be reminisceint of that classic and cool James Mason narrated cartoon THE TELL-TALE HEART. God I love that cartoon, I even have it in 16mm. Simply brilliant. Anyway, monsters are cool, and I love the concept of a world beneath a little girl's bed. However, having just looked under my sister's bed, I can honestly say that truth is far scarier than fiction...

I read the info about Pixars "Hidden City"..

The name is partially correct and partially not.. Dont give my name- but if you must give a spy name Ill be "Little Reject" (Inside joke)..

Hidden City is indeed the code/working title of Pixar's 3rd film. But, it doesn't necessarily give away what it is about. It simply is the name of the directors (Pete Docter) favorite eating establishment. Yes, its a restaurant in Richmond CA.

Ethan Anderton wrote:Monsters Inc. director Pete Docter recently sat down for an interview to discuss the making of the Pixar movie 15 years after its release, and conversation turned to whether or not we might get to see Monsters Inc 3 come together at some point. Find out what the filmmaker had to say below.

Entertainment Weekly chatted with Pete Docter about the possibility of Monsters Inc. 3, and while he confirmed that there was no active development of a sequel, he didn’t rule it out either:

You never say never — who knows what will happen? We purposely went with a prequel for Monsters University because we didn’t want to answer some of the questions about what happens to Boo, and how does she grow up, and things like that. It would have to be really compelling, which is hopefully the benchmark for all of our sequels, anyway.

Though there may not be any plans to make Monsters Inc. 3 happen (which would technically be Monsters Inc. 2 since Monsters University was a prequel), Pixar does have an idea from the early production of Monsters Inc. One of the pitches for the first movie would have been much different than what we got to see. Docter explains:

Part of that idea was like a Peter Pan-type thing, where [Wendy] had been visited by Peter Pan as a kid and had sort of half-forgotten who he was.

That sounds like Monsters Inc. meets Hook, which on the surface could be interesting, if only just to see Boo all grown up but I’m not sure where the story would go from there. Plus, I’m not sure I can emotionally handle the prospect of Boo being a high school aged teen who has completely forgotten about Sully and Mike. It would be like Riley forgetting about Bing Bong in Inside Out all over again.

But for now, Monsters Inc. 3 is non-existent, and it might be for the best if we just let that world be for awhile.